Making the Weight: Boxing's Lethal Secret

By Barry J Whyte

Barry J Whyte examines the dangers of boxing’s 24-hour weigh-in by looking into the far-reaching consequences of a fight between Joey Gamache and Arturo Gatti in February 2000. He shines a light on a controversial system which allows boxers to ‘boil down’ for the weigh-in the day before the fight then pile the weight back on in the time left before stepping into the ring. He exposes the extreme physiological dangers both boxers are subject to under this flawed system.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BackPage Press
• Release date: Dec 3, 2014
• ISBN: 9781909430051

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BackPage Press Copyright © Barry J Whyte, 2013

The moral right of the author has been asserted

First published 2013 by 90 Minutes, an imprint of BackPage Press

ISBN 978-1-909430-05-1

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form by any means electronic, mechanical or photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the permission of the publisher

A short film by the author can be seen at the start of Making the Weight if you have an internet connection and a device which supports audio/video content. It is also available here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yhrqzjd_V5Y

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90 Minutes is supported by Creative Scotland

This story was made possible was with support from the Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism at Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism.

CONTENTS

Making the Weight

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Saturday, February 26, 2000.

Madison Square Garden

There are 278 seconds left in Joey Gamache’s professional boxing career.

He doesn’t know this.

Standing in front of him in the ring tonight is Arturo Gatti. He is going to end Gamache’s career.

He doesn’t know this either.

Twenty-seven hours earlier, when Gatti and Gamache were last together in the same room – for the official weigh-in – Gatti weighed 141 pounds. Standing in the ring tonight, he is 19 pounds heavier at 160. Gamache is 146.

At ringside is the late boxing writer George Kimball. Kimball was at the weigh-in too, but he hadn’t paid much attention. Now he does. Once they shed their robes, it looked as if a linebacker had been matched against a jockey, he will later write. As he sits at ringside tonight, he doesn’t know this is the last time Gamache will step into a professional boxing ring.

In the commentary position for broadcaster HBO is long-time ring announcer Larry Merchant. He sees the same disparity as Kimball sees and he knows the problem. It’s an indication that Gatti had dehydrated too much in recent days and rehydrated too much over the last day-plus, he tells HBO’s viewers

This is Gatti’s first fight in six months – since he ended the career of Reyes Munoz. Back then, Gatti needed an easy win and he and his team chose Munoz, a tomato can whose career record of 21 wins from 24 fights came against cannon fodder. For that fight, Gatti weighed in at 139 pounds and Munoz at 140. By the time of the first punch Gatti had rehydrated to 160 pounds – 21 pounds heavier than at his weigh-in – and Munoz had put on just five, giving Gatti a 15-pound advantage. 
Munoz lasted barely a round that